World of Strength
by King Who Stands Alone
Summary: To become strong is to forfeit your right to a normal life. To achieve greater strength is to sacrifice even further. And when you're the strongest, the only path available is to become a monster. That is the answer Heiwajima Shizuo arrived at. That was the path decided for him from the very beginning. All he can do is walk towards its inevitable end, whatever that may be.
1. Chapter 1

What defines strength? Is it faith? Perseverance? Belief? Physical prowess? Intelligence? Being able to dominate others and force your will upon them? What was it that made someone truly strong? What separated the powerful from the weak? Were people simply born in one category or another, never to rise above where they had been placed?

"Gyahaha, you fucking _retards._ You really thought today was going to be any different? Give up already!" A light-haired young man laughed harshly. He pressed the bottom of his brown dress shoe against the back of the head of his fellow third-year that he had just finished pulverizing until the latter's face was having a deep and intimate conversation with the concrete used to pave the back alley's floor. "When are you going to learn your goddamn lesson? Huh?!" He accentuated the last word with a rather brutal stomp, uncaring of the downed teen's state even as the boy cried out in pain.

For Heiwajima Shizuo, the question of "What defines strength?" had a simple answer; it was defined by one's fists. Fists and the will to beat down anyone and everyone who dared oppose you. If you didn't have that then it was just a matter of time until the world chewed you up and spit you right back out, leaving you a broken husk of a person.

But not him.

 **Never** him.

The strongest didn't have to worry about such things. The strongest was the one doing the chewing, crunching down on those poor weaker souls that carried themselves with so much swagger and the naive idiots that thought they could hang on his level. He'd extend no mercy to any of them, not a single one. Heiwajima Shizuo did not become the feared man he was today by offering mercy to the beaten and downtrodden. He couldn't afford to.

"W-We're sorry, Heiwajima-sama," the boy beneath his heel muttered pitifully, his voice muffled by the asphalt he was practically chewing on. Shizuo was uncaring of his apologies, his response to such worthless words was to press his foot down harder, careful to put more pressure on but not so much that his skull might burst like a water balloon. This guy and his gang, which lied in broken and battered heaps strewn about the alley, came after him, called him out, threw down the gauntlet, and now he was going to whimper like a beaten dog? To not even remain defiant when utterly crushed?

 _'You'll never survive in this world,'_ the blond thought disdainfully, his light brown eyes glaring at those he defeated, no longer finding humor in the scene. He existed on a different plane than these people. His strength separated him from the rest of the world, cut him off and led to his designation as a monster even back in elementary school when his insane physical power began to manifest itself.

It was like a switch had just flipped one day, back when he was just some snot-nosed brat. One day, weak, flimsy, _normal._ And the next? Strong, powerful, dominating, downright _inhuman._ He had proven as much when, at 7 years old, he lifted a refrigerator with his bare hands before dropping it when his arms gave out.

Of course, it went without saying that he broke damn near every damn bone in his arms doing it. Muscles almost tearing off fully from the bone, tendons rupturing, the whole works. Doctors had no explanation for how he had done it, attempting to explain it with something they called "hysterical strength" that had no real trigger to it. From that day onward, it was as if his brain had permanently switched to that state. He had superhuman strength that he could call upon whenever he wanted. The only problem is that it didn't come with an off switch and he, being a child with no experience handling or moderating such power, didn't know how to hold back. The toll it took on his body was horrific, his _everything_ breaking again and again simply because it couldn't handle the stress he put it under, even unintentionally. He couldn't even begin to count the number of days he spent laid up in a hospital bed and wondering if he had been cursed to live in sheer agony as retribution for some grave sin he had committed in the past.

And then something incredible happened.

He body began to grow accustomed to it.

Physicians actually had two _real_ explanations for his condition at that time. "Wolff's law" and "Davis's law" or, in layman's terms, two medical terms that stated the more stress put upon the body's bones and muscles, the more the body would simply adapt to the constant demands. The more he broke, the more that was healed (and astonishingly quickly at that, something else they had no answer for). The more he healed, the stronger he became. An endless cycle of his body breaking from the pressure, then rebuilding itself better, faster, stronger, more durable, again and again.

Except, it eventually did end. His body's forced adaptations came to a halt not too long ago, when physicians deemed that his body had reached its physical peak for his age. There was simply no more he could do, intentionally or otherwise, to become stronger that wouldn't be incredibly life-threatening if not outright suicidal.

And then came the fights. God, so many fights. From schoolyard bullies trying to pick on the "freak" to wannabe gangsters trying to look tough by challenging him in the hopes that they'd win and make a name for themselves in the town. From elementary school all the way up to the present and his days in high school, he was beset by challengers from all sides. They wouldn't stop coming, no matter how badly he thrashed them. Beat one, three would take his place, each one believing they had what it took to bring him low and unseat him from the position of being the strongest.

They never did.

How could they?

They were just humans, and he was a monster.

He was _the_ monster.

His feats of strength around town eventually became that of legend. "Legend" was the operative word in that sentence, because nobody could believe a human being, let alone some high school kid, could rip a lamppost out of the ground or pulverize brick and concrete with nothing but his bare hands, regardless of how many witnesses accounts there were. It was also why the cops never came knocking on his door, as they just found it too unbelievable to even consider approaching him. Heiwajima Shizuo was a myth, a legend, a fairy tale, a scary story wannabe yakuza-types told to each other when boasting how they had gone toe-to-toe with the "Dangerous Beast" and lived to tell the tale instead of being crushed into a literal human paste.

Dangerous Beast Shizuo.

Kuoh Academy's Strongest Delinquent.

The titles he received from those awed and terrified by his might. The labels that separated him from the rest of the world even more than his irregular body did. Epithets that caused people to see him as more of a monster than a man. His "legend" gradually became warped as time went on until he was no more than a super strong delinquent with a penchant for complete and utter destruction, stomping out anyone and everyone that got on his nerves. Forever on the warpath, to come across him was to court death. That was the image he had carefully cultivated. And yet they never stopped coming, always seeking to challenge him as though they had something to prove to the world.

 _'And speaking of a challenge…'_

The blond eyed the third-year below him. He and his gang of thugs had been nothing, coming at him with bricks, steel pipes, wooden two-by-fours, the whole nine yards. It made no difference. Their weapons broke against his body, only serving to damage and tear up his uniform – the fifth time that had happened this semester – before he tossed them around like rag dolls. They weren't good for anything other than spreading his name around after being destroyed by him. Messengers to put out the word to stay out of his way. Another cautionary tale to not cross him.

"Next time I see you," the blond began, exerting the most minute amounts of force as he pressed the teen's face further into the pavement, "you'll get a beating a lot worse than today's. Don't come back unless you're a hundred times as strong as you are now. Or better yet, don't come back at all. Crawl back to whatever shit life you had before and remember your place. Understand?"

He didn't even bother waiting for his response, taking his foot off of his head, picking up his schoolbag, and walking out of the alleyway without so much as a glance back at the fallen bodies. They'd live, of that he was (relatively) sure. Probably with an assortment of hospital bills after the beating he had doled out, but that wasn't his problem.

No, his problem currently, if his phone alarm going off was any indication, was that he was-

* * *

"Late to school _again,_ Heiwajima?"

Shizou rolled his eyes at his teacher's obvious statement as he walked to his seat in the back, paying little attention to the stares and whispers he received for his tardiness and the disheveled state of his uniform. "Actually I was just getting here early for tomorrow's class," he mouthed off, earning a few quiet laughs from those in 3-B that weren't terrified that he'd beat them half to death just for laughing in his presence. He heard the teacher bark something about learning some respect and to just take his seat quietly if he didn't want to get thrown out but didn't pay it much mind.

Finally reaching his desk, he allowed his bag to drop to the floor before sliding into his chair, placing his head on the smooth desktop and closing his eyes. This morning had been an absolute dumpster fire but at least now he'd be able to get some sleep. His grades would suffer but what did he care? What he wanted to achieve lied beyond the reach of academic study. Attending school at all was just a way to occupy his time in-between fighting, eating, and sleeping. Truth be told, he'd have cut classes out of his schedule entirely if given the option.

Unfortunately for him, he didn't have such a luxury. A downright _troublesome_ and _irritating_ redheaded _menace_ of a girl had called in the favor he owed her ever since their first year to all but force him to come to class. He considered just ignoring the request but the idea of being indebted to anyone just didn't sit right with him, and it wasn't as if she was asking him to actually do anything other than show up. So long as he made an appearance then she would keep that pain in the ass of an unglorified hall monitor, Shitori, off of his back, which was a fairly decent trade.

"Glad you could make it, Shizuo-kun."

The blond sighed before opening his eyes and sat up before turning his head ever so slightly to the right. Light brown eyes made contact with blue, a small smile tugging on the girl's lips, one he found far too bright for such an early hour of the day.

Rias Gremory, one-half of the Two Great Ladies of Kuoh Academy, and held some other nonsense titles like Number 1 Beauty of Kuoh Academy as well. Nonsense in that they were stupid titles, not that she wasn't attractive. Even he could admit the redhead was a sight for sore eyes, though he'd sooner throw himself into traffic before saying as much to her just on the fact that she'd never let him live such a remark down (and that damned ponytailed sadist friend of hers, he didn't even want to _think_ about what that girl would do with such information). Curves for days, a pretty face framed by crimson-red hair, cerulean eyes, and a personality that he had heard other guys in his class describe as "Onee-san Type-A", whatever the hell that meant.

And currently the reason why he was in class instead of doing literally anything else.

"Whatever, Red. Just lemme catch some sleep."

Ignoring the harsh whispers from his classmates about how he _dared_ be so rude to their precious idol as if it wasn't a daily occurrence at this point, he turned away from her once more and let his head thump against the desktop. Not the best or most comfortable pillow, but it would do for now.

* * *

Heiwajima Shizuo was a fascinating person to her and had been since their shared first year at Kuoh Academy. Even back then, in only their first week at the school, he had already become the "Strongest Delinquent", a title she hadn't paid much attention to at the time. Whispers and rumors weren't important to her, especially ones that said ludicrous things like "Heiwajima can punch through walls with his bare hands!". She did know of people that could do such things, and there were undoubtedly humans out there capable of those feats with practiced ease, but she doubted her classmate was one of them. By all appearances, he seemed to be a normal human being, albeit one in rather good physical shape.

And then she had witnessed him pick up a soda machine outside the school's gymnasium before effortlessly hurling it several dozen meters away, clear into the middle of the woods surrounding the old school building, where it crashed and caused a minor panic throughout the student body. When she questioned him later about it, not even asking _how_ he had done it but _why_ , he stated that it had "eaten" his 600 yen and enraged him, so he threw it after tearing open the door and taking the drink the machine owed him.

That had been the first official meeting between Rias Gremory, school idol, and Heiwajima Shizuo, school troublemaker.

Since then, he had caused numerous incidents and several hundred _thousand_ yen's worth of property damage to the school. From vending machines, which he constantly found himself at odds with much to her amusement, to the walls of buildings – and yes, he _could_ punch holes through them, the redhead soon discovered, despite the fact that they were reinforced by small spells her father and Sona's had put up in the off-chance Kuoh Academy was targeted by enemy forces –, to school equipment, the blond just seemed to be a natural disaster whenever his anger got the better of him. It was only the influence afforded to her by the fact that the Gremory family owned the academy that kept him from being outright expelled, not to mention keeping him from being forced to pay for damages and repairs.

It was also that fact that had allowed her to get close to him in the first place, after deciding he was more than worth the effort of keeping an eye on. A human being that had the strength that could easily put even some Devils to shame without any signs of using a Sacred Gear or any sort of magic? How could she not be interested in such a person?

After allowing the information that she had prevented his expulsion from the academy to intentionally leak out to the rest of the students, she quickly found herself cornered by him one day as she walked to her club's room in the old school building. She found him sitting on the stone stairs that led into the building, waiting for her.

" _Why'd you do it?"_

" _Because I don't think you're as bad as people say you are, Heiwajima-kun. You just need a chance to prove it."_

A short conversation of no more than three sentences, two of which were spoken by her and he said nothing more in response to her answer, but the look of surprise that crossed his face had been more than enough. That was actually the first time she had seen him without a scowl, which was such a shame. Without the perpetual frown etched upon his countenance, he was rather handsome, in a rugged, "rough around the edges" sort of way. If his reputation hadn't been so poor from the start then he might have wound up as the first "prince" of the school instead of Yuuto.

After that small chat, they began to talk more frequently. Well, _she_ talked. He just sort of ignored her, made sarcastic remarks and quips, or told her outright to leave him alone. Silly boy. She hadn't taken that request in their first year together and they were now rounding on their third, why would she start now? Especially when she was clearly making progress, chipping away at his ornery exterior through sheer persistence and determination. He had even replied to her without even a single insult just now, a clear sign that she was making headway.

 _'Now if only I could convince you to stop getting into fights and to put in more effort towards your schoolwork,'_ she thought with a small laugh as she watched him shift in his sleep, his face now turned towards her as he napped through one of their teacher's lectures for the umpteenth time. He wasn't likely to take school seriously anytime soon. The only reason he even attended class was that she asked him to and Shizuo, feeling that he owed her a single favor for having prevented him from being kicked out of school, acquiesced.

And as far as fighting went, it wasn't as if he actively went out and beat people up, despite the constant rumors that he did just that. People came after the short-haired blond under the delusion that they would be able to make a name for themselves if they fought him and won. Not only had no one _ever_ won, those that tried typically found themselves in an infirmary (with Rias quietly having their hospital bills taken care of using her family's finances).

Heiwajima Shizuo was, by all accounts, trouble. He was rude, disruptive, apathetic, unsociable, destructive, and approached just about everything with a hair-trigger temper. He had no discernible goals, nor did he have any plans for the future (that she knew of). Feared by the majority of students for his "criminal-like" behavior. Worshiped by some of the odder types, those that wished to follow in his footsteps and claim his title for themselves once he graduated. Ignored by faculty and staff, who wrote him off as a lost cause and someone who would amount to little in society.

Rias cared not a whit for any of their views. When she looked at the boy she saw raw, unbridled potential. If he was this strong as a human then how far could he go as a Devil? And, assuming she somehow managed to convince him to join her Peerage, would it be enough to overcome a certain Phenex's immortality? But even more than those two questions, she wanted to know just what was it that made him into the person he was today. What experiences had he gone through that made him decide that this was who he wanted to be?

She had meant what she said, back during their first real (and far too short) talk. The people that tried so hard to separate themselves from the rest of the world, to try and distance themselves from it as much as possible, they were the ones that had so much to offer it. His persona of being some untouchable, battle-starved delinquent was an act she could see through. The only issue, and the most intriguing thing about him to her, was that she couldn't see just what in particular lied behind that image.

When the lunch bell rang, she put such thoughts out of her head as she reached over to shake her friend – and yes, they were _friends_ , no matter how much he denied it – awake, an almost daily ritual between the two of them. If he missed his afternoon can of coffee then he'd probably go on a rampage when something inconsequential set him off, and she would rather not have to figure out how to explain to her father that the school needed money to repair the west wing.

Again.

* * *

"Will you go out with me?"

A simple question, and one that had been posed to him by quite a few girls that were unafraid of his reputation. Some of them even seemed to think his "bad boy" persona was just an act, something he put on to hide his "pain". Why did everything need some sort of Freudian explanation? He was an ass to people because it came more naturally to him than being nice, he fought because he had to for reasons nobody else needed to know, and that was it. Girls trying to dig deeper and understand him on "another level" didn't seem to realize that he didn't _have_ another level.

Regardless of all that and his typical "woman troubles", as that goddamned ponytailed sadist liked to call it, he had to give this weird girl his answer. Physically, she wasn't particularly unattractive. Just the opposite, in fact. Long, glossy black hair that fell down to her generous hips, a cute face that currently bore an embarrassed blush after asking him for a date, violet eyes that shined in the setting sunlight, and breasts large enough that they seemed to be pushing the limits of the maroon jacket she was wearing. To be asked out by such a girl, most guys would drop to their knees and thank God on the spot.

"No."

But the strongest man in Kuoh Academy was most definitely _not_ "most guys".

Shizuo had no time for romance and all the issues that came along with it. Not currently, at least. Maybe one day? He doubted it. The idea of finding some girl to settle down with, getting a job where he worked a soul-sucking 9 to 5 shift, starting a family, raising a child _,_ it all seemed so alien to him. It seemed so boring to him, so ordinary. He wanted more than that normal life.

"I-I don't understand. Why not?"

 _And here comes the waterworks,_ the blond thought as he saw the unshed tears begin to form in her eyes. Criers were the absolute worst. If they had the confidence to be upfront with what they wanted then why the hell did they have to crumble as soon as he rejected them? It made no damn sense. Women were such a mystery to him, one he really had no interest in unraveling. Especially not if they were going to get all weepy-eyed and start bawling in front of him as if that would change his answer.

"Because I'm not interested in you," Shizuo said bluntly. "In the span of about five minutes you've admitted to knowing my name, what school I go to, my route to and from school, my reputation, and that you've been watching me pass through here for several days. Meanwhile, I don't even know your name."

"I-It's Amano Yuuma..."

"I wasn't asking. The point is that you seem like a stalker. So, thanks for the offer, but no thanks. Find someone else to direct your obsessive feelings towards. Bye, Amano. Good luck on whoever you decide to ask out next."

Without waiting for her reply, he turned on his heel and began to walk away. He wasn't going to stand around and wait for her to have a breakdown in the hopes that he'd comfort her. That sure as hell wouldn't be happening. He had better things to do with his time than wipe away the tears of some stalker on the overpass.

"I see. I guess this is my fault."

"Yeah, probably," Shizou responded when he heard her faint whisper, not even bothering to break his pace or turn to face her as he continued walking. He was already late on his way home, meaning his mother was going to nag him and ask if he had been out getting in fights again. Which he technically hadn't been, at least not since this morning.

"It's my fault for taking pity on a rabid dog such as yourself. I shouldn't have bothered wasting my time trying to give you one last good memory before putting you down. You can just die on the cold ground instead, completely alone and forgotten. That's a suitable ending for someone like you. Why our Father told us to love you disgusting creatures as much as we did Him, I'll never understand. Just another one of His mistakes, I suppose."

The boy came to a dead stop, not even hearing anything she said past a certain point. To him, it would have just been psychobabble anyway. No, there were two words in particular that stuck out to him and caused the teen to freeze in place.

 _'Rabid dog?'_

He turned around slowly, eyes narrowed as his entire attitude did a hard shift. The bored, apathetic Heiwajima Shizuo was replaced in an instant. "You wanna run that by me again, _bitch?_ " the boy asked through clenched teeth. He began to feel anger bubbling up inside of him, his short fuse already lit. Women and children were strictly off-limits when he went on one of his destructive tears but if Amano Yuuma thought she was going to call him a _dog_ without consequences then she was delusional.

"Azazel-sama assigned me to watch over you in the off-chance your Sacred Gear awakened but he shouldn't have bothered. Even if it's a threat to us in the future, so long as you die before realizing your potential then it won't matter," the raven-haired girl said coldly, her eyes losing all of their previous warmth and nervousness. Her voice dripped with nothing but pure venom now, distaste for him etched upon her face. "So, you good-for-nothing, rude little brat, do me a favor and die. Here. **Now.** "

His eyes were barely able to keep up as the clearly mentally disturbed girl suddenly rushed him. Yuuma charged, a purple lance appearing in her right hand as if by magic with a path set straight to pierce through his heart and out his back, exploding in a shower of gore that would undoubtedly end his life in mere moments. The killing intent in her violet irises, it was almost enough to surprise Shizou. People always came at him with the intention to beat, to maim, to just knock him senseless, but rarely did they ever make a serious attempt on his life.

Unfortunately for his personal psychopath, all the killing intent in the world didn't matter worth a damn against him.

"Wha..."

Shizou's left hand shook as he gripped the mysterious energy spear by the shaft, stopping it dead in its tracks before the pointed end could reach his chest. For the first time in ages, he felt pain. His palm screamed in protest, begging him to just let go, to do anything to make the burning sensations stop. The blond refused to listen, clenching his fist down tighter as if to spite himself.

"If you think it's going to be that easy," he growled, his light brown irises mirroring the intensity she had previously glared at him with, before her expression became one of shock when he stopped her attack barehanded, "you really must be fucking stupid!" the boy roared, throwing his left arm to the side with all his might to force the spear off course, kicking up debris when it impacted the concrete and exploded, before using the momentum to slam his right fist into her cheek.

The blow sent her reeling, spinning while she stumbling back as she desperately tried to regain her bearings. The girl's trembling hand rose to caress her face, resting against the cheek. He rose his left hand to eye level just above his face to get a good look at it while she was still distracted, inspecting the damage she had done in her attempt at taking his life.

The fact that he was feeling pain at all was worrying – _infuriating_ – considering his pain tolerance had long since reached levels where he could be (and had been, in the past) stabbed somewhere non-vital and not even notice until blood loss became an issue or someone else saw it and said something to him. The skin on his palm and fingers was an angry red, peeling away in places. He didn't know much, if anything, about burn stages but he would estimate just at a glance that it was worse than a first-degree burn but not quite a second-degree one either. There didn't seem to be any blistering or swelling, and now that he had let go of the spear the pain had died down to a dull throbbing and stinging sensation that was starting to fade already.

"How dare you. How **dare** you strike me?!"

His thoughts broke as he looked up once more to his would-be killer. Her eyes were wide in utter fury as well as disbelief and surprise. The cheek where he had struck her had swelled up incredibly quickly. If she hadn't been trying to kill him, the boy would have almost found it comical. She shook with pure rage, summoning another spear to her hand.

"You filthy, disgusting, **worthless** piece of human garbage!"

As if to mock her, the boy began to laugh. "It's your own fault, idiot. You thought you were gonna kill _me_ in one shot? Who the fuck do you think you are? Who the fuck do you think _**I**_ am?" he asked, slipping back into his usual habit of denigrating his opponents. That's all she was now, magic powers or no. His reaction time was just enough that he was able to keep pace with her movements and his strength was clearly sufficient for wounding her. Just another fight, just another day.

"I think you're a dead man."

"Then you clearly aren't paying attention."

His response only seemed to infuriate her further. Her body tensed once more and he prepared for the second charge, clenching his hands into fists. This time he'd step in and use her speed and momentum against her, smashing Yuuma's – Was that even her real name? Likely not. Amano Yuuma, approaching him at sunset. Ama no Yuuma, Heaven's Evening Daze. Funny joke. He'd be sure to laugh after knocking her teeth down her throat. – face in with a counter-punch when she went to impale him. Once she was on the ground he'd pin her down and imprint the texture of his knuckles into her skull.

Women and children were off-limits.

But this freak show was most _definitely_ not just a woman. And those humongous breasts of hers said she was no kid either.

She had tried to kill him, and that meant she was free game. She was the enemy, and enemies only existed to be crushed underfoot by his might. Shizou felt a wild grin creep up on him as he took a step forward, intent on punching the girl's lights out and then some. Whatever this lunatic was, she was no longer a person. She just another way to elevate his own status in the town now, once the story got out that he beat some magic chick into the ground.

Monsters killing monsters. It was only fitting.

Sadly, he didn't get the opportunity to find out as the black-haired girl stared at something behind him in shock, her pupils shrinking in what he registered as shock. He could distantly hear footsteps approaching them and resisted the urge to turn his head to see who it was. Looking away from the enemy standing in front of you, regardless of the circumstances, was an easy way to wind up dead. Especially when said enemy could make some sort of spear. Just because he didn't register most pain and had a tough body didn't mean something like having his heart pierced and crushed wouldn't kill him the same as any other person. He was strong, but not invincible.

"Dammit, I should have known he'd be watched," she muttered under her breath before her gaze snapped back to him. "I'll never forget this, boy. I'll pay you back for this disgrace, I swear it on my life." With those final threatening words, wings with feathers dark as the night sky sprouted from her back. She didn't even spare him another glance before kicking off the ground and taking off, flying through the evening sky. He watched her go, momentarily so shocked by the sight that he forgot of the unknown person coming up from behind. Shaking it off, he spoke to himself.

"Come back anytime, bird-bitch. I'll clip your wings whenever you want."

"That was lame, senpai."

"Fuck off, half-pint. There's a height restriction on my jokes," the blond replied instantly, not even questioning the person that was now standing to his side. He recognized the monotone voice almost immediately, not even needing to look down to know the person in question was now sporting an irritated expression, her yellow eyes glaring up at him for mentioning her small stature.

"Idiot."

"Midget."

He spun on his heel and began to walk away with that last insult, resuming his walk home. He was definitely late now and could already hear his mother demanding to know what had happened, especially if she saw the burns on his hand. He wondered what line he'd have to feed her this time. A bad accident in science class? That would explain his hand but not the damage that had been done this morning to his uniform.

"Not going to ask about what just happened?"

Shizou didn't even stop when he answered. "If you're here then Red's probably involved, so I'll just get the answers from her tomorrow. Later, shorty," he called out as he continued walking down the street, mentally going over the various excuses he had already used in the past to convince his mother that he wasn't causing trouble. There was no need to worry about the little birdy that tried to kill him. She tried, she failed. He was the better monster today.

And he always would be.

* * *

Koneko watched Shizuo go with a stoic gaze, though if one looked closely they could make out the faintest signs of her lips quirking upwards into the beginnings of a smile. To wave off a near-death encounter as if it was nothing after punching a Fallen Angel in the face and receiving an oath of retribution for the act, that was so like him. An apathetic idiot through and through.

She had moved to step at the moment the Fallen Angel charged at him with her light spear but had been just as shocked as her when the boy stopped it with nothing more than physical strength. No awakening or activation of a Sacred Gear, she could sense no magic being used either, just raw power to halt her spear with his bare hand before driving it into the ground.

 _'Buchou's going to want to know about this,'_ Koneko thought as she observed the damage that had been done to the overpass. There was a chunk of it blown to bits and pieces, concrete littering the street below and now currently holding up traffic, horns of agitated drivers blaring and irritating her sensitive ears. The Fallen Angel had put some serious power into her attack and the upperclassmen came away with only some burns on his hand.

"Strongest Delinquent" Heiwajima Shizuo.

He was certainly living up to his title, that was for sure.

* * *

 **Before anyone asks, I _do_ intend on elaborating further on the first two years of Rias, Akeno, and Shizuo's time at Kuoh but I can't make the first chapter of the story a huge flashback because then nobody's going to read it. It'll come in bits and pieces. Things will be explained and brought up when thematically appropriate.**

 **Speaking of Shizuo, he can be described as a warped mix of his namesake, Heiwajima Shizuo from Durarara, and Accelerator from Toaru Majutsu no Index, along with a few other traits and personality quirks thrown in. I'll leave you to decide and decipher what those are and where I got what from. I will say that his looks are the same as the original Shizuo's though, so you can get a better picture of him in your mind.**

 **Updates will be sporadic and pretty much based on public reception, so if you want to see more then review and let me know. I've already written the next chapter and have a general plan for what the third will look like, so, yeah. Review for more and stuff. Will try to answer any questions in the next A/N if I get any and they don't involve spoiler-y stuff.** "Sky's Alight, Heaven's on Fire" **already has its next chapter finished as of uploading this new story so please don't ask, I'm trying to maintain something resembling an upload schedule.**


	2. Chapter 2

Shizuo sighed tiredly. He had been able to, somehow, conceal his burns last night by telling his mother he would be eating dinner in his room and it was smooth sailing for the rest of the evening. She didn't ask questions, knowing that her son just wanted to be alone sometimes and accepting of that fact, and he took care to always keep the bandaged hand hidden whenever the two crossed paths in the house.

"Who did this to you?!"

He wasn't so lucky this morning, when his mother came into his room unannounced and saw him changing the bandages and re-wrapping his hand up. He'd been caught red-handed, literally, and she hadn't stopped fussing over him since. She was insistent on helping him clean the wound (which was already healing) and applying an antibiotic ointment to it before assisting him in re-wrapping, an easier task than trying to do it with one hand.

"What are their names? I'll call their parents right now and demand that they apologize!"

"Would you calm down already? Nobody did this to me," he lied. What was he supposed to say? He stopped a spear with his bare hand and the magic burned him? It was bad enough his hand was fucked up, he didn't need to be confined to a psychiatric hospital in a straitjacket. Though, knowing his mother, she'd probably go along with it. She was understanding to the point that it was worrying, even buying his story last night that he hadn't _started_ a fight but rather got caught up in stopping one and that was his uniform was in such shabby condition when he came home.

Not _completely_ a lie considering he hadn't _started_ the fight, he just omitted the part where _they_ challenged _him_ and he stopped it by laying everyone out cold.

Technical truths really were the best ones.

"Don't try to protect them, Shi-chan! I won't stand for anyone bullying you!"

Someone bullying _him?_ That got a snort out of him. Even if he didn't have his fearsome reputation and some brave idiot actually got it in their heads to try and intimidate him, he'd have stomped them into a puddle. But his mother had always been a bit ignorant of his true nature, never even really acknowledging his superhuman strength as something abnormal. In his mother's eyes, he was her completely normal, albeit ill-mannered at times, son _._

"Stop freakin' calling me that already. I'm a grown man, treat me like one," he grumbled, allowing the smaller woman to check him for any other possible injuries, poking and prodding him and asking if there were bruises he was concealing while he constantly answered in the negative. It's not like he could just shove her away. She was his _mother_ , it was practically hard-coded into her brain to worry about him. It wasn't as if he was enjoying the attention or anything. Definitely not. He was just going along with things in the hopes she wouldn't bug him about it in the future, that was all.

"Do you want to stay home from school today? I can call the office and tell them you came down with something," his mother said, completely ignoring his request to stop using that embarrassing and childish nickname. It was times like this that made him glad he didn't have friends to bring around the house. If word got out that the Strongest Delinquent also answered to "Shi-chan" then his rep would never recover. He would have to do something extreme like bludgeon someone with a dumpster just to put the fear back into people's hearts.

"No, mom. I'm fine. I already put on my uniform, I might as well go," he replied, unhappy at passing up the opportunity to skip school but he still wanted answers from Rias. Koneko had seen what had happened yesterday and was completely unfazed – though that could have easily been due to her stoic personality, the short girl was just weird like that – and that meant, in his mind, that such scenes were the norm for her. And if crazy chicks with huge black-feathered bird wings that could summon energy spears was normal for her then it was probably connected to Rias in some way. Or maybe that was just his tendency to blame his misfortune on the exhausting non-friendship relationship he had with her. At least half of the tiring things in his school life could be chalked up to knowing or being associated with Rias Gremory.

His mother hesitated before finally letting go of his hand. "Alright, if you're sure. Be careful, okay? Do you want some breakfast before you go?"

Shizuo just shook his head as he walked past her, glad that she was letting him off so easily. The last time he had come home with a serious, by her overprotective standards at least, injury – some punk had pulled a knife on him and tried to take his eye out, missed, and wound up cutting a decently sized gash just above his eyebrow – his mother had flipped, spending hours trying to convince him to go to the hospital (only relenting when he allowed her to stitch him up herself) and insisting that she tell him just what had happened.

"I'll grab something on the way. See you when I get home."

* * *

His luck didn't get any better when he entered his classroom, on time at that. Early, even. Truly a day of monumental firsts. If he had known who was waiting for him and the frantic state she was in he would have come in late intentionally.

"Are you okay? Does it hurt? Are you injured anywhere else? Do you need to change the bandages?"

This girl though, he _could_ shove away. And he did, albeit not very forcefully. He didn't want to accidentally catapult her out the window and across campus or something. "Jesus fuckin' Christ, Red. How about you take a breath before you start hyperventilating. You sound like my mother," he muttered, struggling to wrench his hand out of her death-grip as she inspected it. Why the hell was she so goddamn strong all of a sudden? She was just a teenage girl but he was pretty sure the hold she had on his hand was only a few shades away from cutting off blood circulation. "Stop holdin' my damn hand already," he said when he finally freed himself, shoving said hand into his pocket and out of sight before she could grab at it again.

The last thing he needed was people spreading a rumor that he and Rias were seen holding hands. It was bad enough someone in their second year tried to start a rumor of the two of them being _together_ together, which only ended when he found the bastard and told him to stop causing Rias trouble or he'd be spending the rest of the school year being stuffed in the garbage cans littered around campus at the end of every school day.

Not that he cared about any trouble that came her way or anything. She deserved it for always giving him issues and putting him in situations he didn't want to deal with, he just didn't want to be the one linked to her problems. He'd much rather prefer her own actions coming back to bite her in the ass rather than have something possibly pinned on him. He had told her multiple times to stop associating with him if she wanted to keep that reputation of hers in good condition anyway, to which she always just smiled and said that it would be fine regardless.

 _'Damn clingy redheads.'_

Rias' eyes widened when she realized the small scene she was making in public, their classmates stopping whatever conversations they were having with each other to stare at the two of them. Shizuo noticed her cheeks begin to redden just slightly out of embarrassment from causing a minor scene, an occurrence even rarer than his arrival to class before it started. If their classmates weren't talking before then they definitely were now, a fact that made Shizuo scowl in annoyance.

The last time they had got to spinning the rumor mill about him, he had somehow wound up as a teenage enforcer for the Italian mafia – Because of _course_ he was Italian, how _else_ could the idiots around him explain the blond hair? Clearly if you were blond that meant you came from overseas! Never mind the fact that Kiba Yuuto was blond and nobody ever went around accusing him of anything. – that had transferred into the school as a sort-of cover story. This was in spite of the fact that he had been attending the academy since his first year, on top of being born and raised in Kuoh Town. Actual facts didn't seem to matter much to them, and it certainly didn't stop the rumors swirling around him either. He wound up in seven fights that week alone, all with low-level yakuza goons that heard "from the friend of a friend that knows a guy who overheard some talk" that mafia was "moving in on their turf".

"Right. Sorry," she apologized in a quiet tone. "I'll explain everything later, I promise. Just wait until the end of school."

Before he could tell her that he wasn't up for waiting and wanted an explanation that very moment on why some bird woman showed up out of the blue to try and skewer him, their teacher entered the room and called for everyone to take their seats so he could take down everyone's attendance. He sat with a huff, balancing his cheek on his fist as he looked out the window in disinterest. Bad enough that he had come to school early (or at all) but now he'd have to sit through the entire day to get the explanation he was owed.

* * *

Light-brown eyes snapped open as he grabbed the wrist of whoever it was that was shaking him. He had fallen asleep during class again, this time unintentionally, and reacted on instinct by squeezing down tightly on the person he had grabbed. Shizuo expected them to cry out in pain or to beg him to let go before he snapped their wrist into pieces but instead heard the person give a low moan before speaking.

"Shizu-kun is so rough when he wakes up~. It seems Buchou still has her work cut out for her."

He groaned in displeasure as he turned his head to face the speaker, loosening his grip. Black hair done up in a ponytail with an orange ribbon holding it in place, with two strands of her hair sticking out from it and sloping back. A voluptuous figure dressed in the standard Kuoh Academy female uniform, though she had traded in the standard white socks for black ones that came up to her calf. A kind – ' _Devious,'_ he thought to himself – smile was on her face, even as she rubbed her wrist where he had grabbed her. Her violet eyes shined with amusement when he voiced his discontent at seeing her. Himejima Akeno, Rias' friend, her partner-in-crime for getting on his nerves, second-half of the Two Great Ladies and forever-present pain in his neck ever since Rias had introduced him to her.

The ponytailed girl was too teasing, too "perfect" to the extent that it seemed more practiced than anything, and too damn familiar and casual when speaking to him. Even Rias had limits when she decided she wanted to try and embarrass him a little, operative word there being "try". The girl standing next to him had none, at least not when away from the prying eyes of the student body. When Rias all but dragged him to have lunch with her and her friend, claiming that he should socialize more with his peers, the things she said were almost enough to get him flustered. _Almost_ enough, because he'd sooner let someone shank him in a dark alley than let some pretend-Yamato nadeshiko use her feminine wiles to screw with his head.

"What do you want, woman? And I told you to _never_ call me that."

"I'm here as your escort," she said, irritating him by not even acknowledging his demand to stop with that ridiculous nickname. And what was this about an escort? What was there to escort him to? Where was he going? _'And where the hell is Rias?'_ he wondered after looking around and being unable to spot the familiar sight of her red hair. Instead of asking anything of actual importance, he decided to respond in his usual insulting manner.

"My escort? Do I have to pay you by the hour?" he inquired, ignoring the scandalized gasps of the eavesdropping brats around them as well as the threats from the male students. Shouting stupid things like "How dare you say that to Akeno-sama?!" and "I'll kill you, you damn yankee!", the sheer volume of their remarks was more irritating than the actual remarks themselves. Did they have to be so damn loud after he had just woken up?

Akeno pretended to pout. He could tell it was a faked action by the fact that the mirth in her eyes hadn't died down in the slightest, if anything it only grew, much to his annoyance. "You shouldn't say such vulgar things about your friends, Shizu-kun."

She was still calling him by that thrice-damned nickname. What was it with the women in his life and ignoring his requests to be called by his actual name? "When I get a friend I'll be sure to keep your advice in mind. Can you take me to whatever fresh hell you're clearly here to drag me towards already? If I have to listen to anymore shrieking from the peanut gallery I'm going to pick up my desk and beat someone with it." That wasn't an idle threat either. People that knew about him and his infamous temper could attest to that much. Chairs, desks, garbage cans, vending machines, a steel beam, _another person_ , if Shizuo could lift it, and the smart bet was that he could, then he would absolutely hit someone with it if they pissed him off.

Akeno, knowing that it wasn't just a comment made in jest, nodded. "Follow me. Buchou is waiting for you." She turned on her heel and began to exit the classroom. Shizuo stood and followed behind with a tired sigh. He already had a feeling where he was being led to. Rias had been trying to get him to visit her weird club for the longest time now, ever since the semester started. Something about getting his opinion on an important matter, he hadn't really been listening at the time.

 _'Seriously, who the hell takes over a club about the occult?'_

* * *

The Occult Research Club's personal room and base of operations.

It was tacky.

And cliche.

And _very_ nicely furnished.

Just one look at the upholstery on the sofas told him that they were worth some serious cash. Either Rias had pulled some strings and got an extra slice of the school's budget for her club or she had somehow acquired all of it herself. Either way, somebody put some money into it and it showed. A shame that it was kind of ruined by the weird circle with squiggly lines drawn on the floor in the center of the room, along with all the candlesticks and candelabras. They could afford nice furniture but not a normal lamp? Or maybe the old school building wasn't hooked up to the school's power grid anymore. The building itself was in good condition, looking more like a mansion than a former place of learning, but it was entirely possible the administration just didn't feel the need to keep the building powered for only one club.

None of that was really important to him so he didn't much care to ask. He was here to find out about the mysterious bird lady, her magic spears, and why she seemed so set on trying to snuff out his life. There could be a laundry list of reasons for that last one, from revenge for something he had done in the past to cause her issues like beating down a relative of hers, to wanting some fame and glory for herself for being the one to finally put Dangerous Beast Shizuo in the grave. There were plenty of those types in the city, all of them practically salivating at the chance to stick him with something nice, sharp, and pointy. He was relatively sure that at least the majority of them didn't have wings though, and he sure as hell didn't remember beating down anyone with such appendages in the past.

"So this is where you people perform your sacrificial rituals to try and summon the Outer Gods. Cozy."

"Not that kind of club, Shizuo-kun."

"I somehow doubt that," he said in a dry and sarcastic voice, giving another glance at the circle on the ground. "Your attempts at calling cosmic horrors aside, you wanna explain why I'm here? Or why some insane bitch with wings tried to gank me on the way home?"

"Gank?"

The blond turned to the other blond located on the couch and met his look of confusion with his irritated gaze. "Gank. Murder, kill, assassinate, execute, stab, shank, eighty-six, any of these ringing a bell with you? Do I need to draw you a fucking picture? Why did someone to try to kill me yesterday and what do you all know about it?"

"Relax, Shizuo-kun. You came here for an explanation and I, as promised, will give you one. But first, introductions are in order."

The boy looked back at Rias, seated behind her desk and smiling, in disbelief. "Are you screwing with me right now? I want to talk about why someone tried to put a spear through my heart and you want to do introductions? Were you huffing paint fumes before I got here? Is that why you left class early and Ponytail over there had to come get me instead? And in case you forgot, I already know all of you people because you wouldn't stop goddamn bugging me to meet your club members last year."

"Shizuo, this is serious."

He snorted. Whenever Rias dropped the honorific from his name that meant she was trying to get him to see a situation as important, not an easy task and one she rarely ever succeeded at. He was starting to wonder if this was all just an incredibly overelaborate prank. If it was then he was going to pick up that nice wooden desk of Rias' and relocate it to the roof by throwing it through the ceiling, with the rest of the room's furniture going out the window. But, for now, he'd play along so long as he meant he got answers.

And, hey, if he didn't like those answers then he still had the window.

"Heiwajima Shizuo, third-year, the guy that's currently getting very fucking angry. You want my measurements and blood-type too or is this enough for you?" he asked sarcastically, feeling his brow twitch in annoyance when Rias continued to smile despite his parody of an attempt at giving any sort of real introduction. Why couldn't she just get angry like a normal person when he insulted or otherwise mocked her? Her constant acceptance of his bad attitude really ticked him off. ' _Stupid, overly composed tomatohead.'_

"That'll do just fine. Yuuto, you can start."

The other blond in the room rose to his feet and gave Shizuo a small bow before straightening out. "Kiba Yuuto, second-year. It's good to see you again, senpai. I hope you haven't been getting into too much trouble," he said with a good-natured smile before sitting back down, his words earning himself a grunt from Shizuo. He would have had significantly fewer troubles in his life if people would stop trying to insert themselves into it but that apparently wasn't happening anytime soon.

Next up was the white-haired loli to blue-eyed blond's right. She followed Kiba's lead and stood as well before bowing. "First-year, Toujou Koneko," she said quietly and succinctly before retaking her seat as well and going back to snacking on the candy she had in her hand. He wasn't expecting some grand introduction from the girl anyway, considering her personality and how frequently they traded insults whenever they spoke to each other. That things hadn't reached that point yet was a small miracle.

"You already know me, _Shizu-kun_. Himejima Akeno, third-year and Vice-President of the Occult Research Club. I hope you'll take good care of me~." He could hear her giggling behind him and did his best to refrain from scowling (or at least more than he already was). She may not have been able to see his face from where she was standing but he didn't want to take the chance of giving her the satisfaction of knowing she was getting under his skin. He wouldn't allow that sadist to derive any pleasure from him.

"And finally, I am Rias Gremory, third-year and President of the Occult Research Club." Wonderful, it was finally over. Now they could actually start to talk about things that mattered. "However, this club is only a facade to conceal our true purpose for gathering here every day after school. We are-"

"Oh God, you people really _are_ a fuckin' cult, aren't you? I knew it."

Rias sighed. She had been building up to a dramatic reveal but he had dashed any hopes of that now. "We're not a cult, Shizuo-kun. All of the members of this club are Devils. The person you encountered yesterday was a Fallen Angel," she said, allowing silence to overtake the room as the boy let her words sink in. With any luck, this would get him to take the situation more seriously.

His gut instinct was to deny it. Rias and her club were, by all definitions, a bunch of weirdos but for them to not even be human beings was another thing entirely. And this business with Fallen Angels, did that mean there were _actual_ Angels? Which would mean there was a real Heaven too, wouldn't it? Take it a step further, the end conclusion would be that God exists. And if God existed, then He just jumped to the top of the list of people he would sock in the damn mouth if he ever saw Him. The blond had more than his fair share of grievances to air with the Lord and he would make sure each one was thoroughly discussed in-between knocking Him senseless.

That aside, he had the proof that the (supposed) Devil was telling the truth, at least where the Fallen Angel was concerned. He undid the bandages on his hand and let the white wrappings fall away enough to reveal his palm, ignoring the look of concern Rias was giving his hand. It hadn't fully healed, his palm still carrying a red coloring to it signifying that the burn had yet to fade, but the pain was non-existent at this stage. More to the point, his injury was still there. Yesterday hadn't been some stupid dream he had and this meeting wasn't just some weird coincidence that tied into it. He wasn't one for doubting himself or his memory but it helped to have undeniable proof. He rewrapped it quickly and turned his attention back to Rias.

"For argument's sake, let's say I accept what you're saying. What the hell does this have to do with me?" he asked, still not seeing the point to all this. Was this where someone would tell him that he wasn't actually a human being but a Devil all along and that's why the Fallen Angel targeted him? It would explain his insane strength but it was too convenient an explanation. Not to mention it would mean his parents had been deceiving him his entire life, letting him believe he was some freak of nature rather than divulge his true lineage. "You trying to say I'm not human?"

Rias shook her head. "Nothing of the sort. You are definitely human, albeit with some... abnormalities," she hesitantly said, not wanting to possibly offend him. She had just gotten the club room looking the way she wanted only recently and it definitely couldn't take one of his rampages. "You were targeted because of something you have sealed within you. It's called a 'Sacred Gear'."

 _"Azazel-sama assigned me to watch over you in the off-chance your Sacred Gear awakened but he shouldn't have bothered. Even if it's a threat to us in the future, so long as you die before realizing your potential then it won't matter."_

That girl had mentioned it as well, this Sacred Gear power he had. Was that why he was so strong? It would certainly be a better explanation than the ones the doctors gave him of his brain no longer shutting down his muscles to prevent serious injury. "It's just magic" seemed like a more logical reason behind it all. Was he supposed to seriously believe he was a one in a however many billion chance to have such a condition?

When he voiced those thoughts, Rias shook her head once more. "No, your strength isn't related to your Sacred Gear, at least as far as I'm aware. Everything you've done so far is completely unrelated to your power."

That brought him little comfort but he shook it off. He had long since made peace with what he was, and it most certainly wasn't human, regardless of what Rias said. "These Sacred Gear things, they're powerful enough to make a Fallen Angel want to kill someone because of it?"

"Typically, no. Possessors are usually approached by various factions for recruitment, and only in the rarest of rare cases are they killed even should they refuse the offer. Koneko told me that you had a short conversation with the Fallen Angel before she attacked you. What did you say?"

Shizuo scowled. "It's pretty fucking presumptuous for you to word it like something I said made her want to kill me on the spot," he said heatedly. Rias opened her mouth to apologize but he continued before she could get a word in. "But for your information, she asked me out on a date after revealing that she had all but stalked me for several days. I told her to get bent and that set her off."

The room descended into silence as the Devils tried to process that information. The Fallen Angel had tried to kill him... because she got rejected? Akeno was the first to break, her light giggles filling the dead air. Rias cleared her throat as she recomposed herself. That had certainly not been what she had expected. "I see. Well, that aside and to answer part of your previous question, Sacred Gears have the potential to be incredibly powerful. Some of the most notable people throughout history achieved their historic deeds by using a Sacred Gear, though we obviously aren't taught such in school. Most are not very strong or only have a use in human society, and thus not a threat to Fallen Angels or Devils."

"And the rest, outside of 'most'?"

"They range from powerful to capable of destroying the world if placed in the wrong hands."

The blond inhaled sharply. That wasn't just strong, that was ridiculous. Weapons with world-breaking capabilities? It'd be downright absurd if humans themselves hadn't created their own arms, ones that could reduce huge chunks of other countries or nations to inhospitable wastelands of death. The only difference was that one was magic, or so he assumed. This Sacred Gear crap sure sounded magical to him.

"You mentioned something about recruitment. That's why I'm here, isn't it? You don't just wanna tell me why I was attacked, you wanna get me on your side too. That it?"

"Very perceptive. Yes, you are correct, Shizuo-kun. I'd like to offer you the opportunity to become a Devil in my service." Rias waited for the outburst, the exclamation that he wasn't anybody's workhorse, lackey, or anything of that nature so she could reassure him that he wouldn't be treated as such. Instead, the boy only stood there quietly, observing her with narrowed eyes. This continued on for several moments before Shizuo ended the silence.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Sell me on this. Gimme a good reason why I should work for you."

This was unexpected. It wasn't a stretch to say that the boy had an issue with authority and authority figures and, as such, she had prepared for the eventuality that he would snap at her for even suggesting he work for her. However, Rias took it in stride and continued on as she had planned. "For one, we can offer you protection. And not just for yourself," she added when it looked like he was about to tell her that he didn't need anyone to protect him, "but your family as well. For humans that becomes Reincarnated Devils, their families are seen as off-limits by other factions. To attack them is no different than attacking the Devils themselves and, as such, are left alone." This got him to settle down as his scowl left his face and his expression went back to being neutral.

"Secondly, status. Reincarnated Devils start on the lowest rung of Devil society, as a Low-Class Devil. However, that can easily change, especially if your Sacred Gear is as powerful as the Fallen Angels seemed to believe. Reaching High-Class before you finish college here is a real possibility when factoring in your Sacred Gear as well as your current physical strength. Once you reach High-Class you are essentially free to do as you wish, so long as you continue to follow the laws of the Underworld."

"And these Low-Class Devils, what are they treated like? Lemme guess; like shit? Considering they're at the absolute bottom and you people went as far as to call them, literally, low-class. What, was 'No-Class' not available at the time or is that reserved for the ones with no hope whatsoever?"

Rias fought back the urge to wince. He wasn't necessarily wrong in that Low-Class Devils were viewed unfavorably in the Underworld, Reincarnated Low-Class Devils particularly so, by blood purists and other members of the nobility. She just needed to do her best to convince him that she would never treat him as though he were some slave or servant. Her Peerage was her family, the family she had chosen and come to care for. "By some of the more unsavory members of our society, yes, there are cases of Low-Class Devils being treated improperly. However, I assure you that should you join my Peerage that you would be treated with the utmost respect and be viewed as a person rather than property. The people in this club are my family and I would never mistreat them."

Shizuo raised an eyebrow. Peerage? That must have been the official name for these types of Devil groups. And what was this about being reincarnated? Did that mean he had to _die_ before becoming a Devil or was that just a figure of speech? If it was the former then his answer was going to be an absolute refusal. He had no intention of dying for somebody else anytime soon. "You got anything else?"

"As a Devil, you would become even stronger than-" Rias took note of the fact that Shizuo was smirking, looking as though he was trying hard not to laugh. "Is there something about this you find amusing?" she asked, not finding any of the humor in her explanation.

"You trying to offer me power. That's kinda funny. Pretty sure if it came down to it I could knock you all senseless," he said bluntly. Three teenage girls, one of which that didn't even come up to his shoulders, and a guy that looked like a breeze might just blow him away. Was he seriously supposed to believe they could offer him more of what he already had in spades?

"Your physical strength, while impressive and most certainly incredible by human standards, pales in comparison to some of the things Devils are capable of," Rias responded, knowing she was walking on eggshells now. He had gotten into fights for people about remarks like that and, while she doubted he'd do something extreme (or stupid) like try to leap across the room and over the desk to take a swing at her, one never did know with him. He was wild and unpredictable, sometimes likened by some of the other students as more akin to a force of nature than an actual person.

His light-brown eyes narrowed. "That so? So, any one of you could take me? That's what it _sounds_ like you're saying, Red. But that can't be it, because that would just be fucking _stupid."_

And there it was. Rias had had a feeling things would come to this when planning out just how and what she would say to the blond and, as such, had a response in mind. She had already gotten Koneko's permission to volunteer her for this, now it was just a matter of showing Shizuo that his strength wasn't as absolute as he thought and tempting him with the promise of more. "If you'd like I would be more than happy to offer a demonstration."

Shizuo raised an eyebrow.

* * *

They were in the back of the old school building now, in a small clearing surrounded by tree. Rias had proposed a small spar to illustrate the difference between human strength and Devil strength and, naturally, Shizuo took the offer immediately without really thinking on who he would fight. He _assumed_ Kiba, if for no other reason than the belief that Rias wouldn't send herself or the other two girls to fight him, as it would be a slaughter if he accepted (which he likely wouldn't have). If he had known just who she was going to pair him against he wouldn't have wasted his time even entertaining the thought of accepting.

"You're joking with this shit, right?" he asked incredulously, looking from Rias' chosen opponent for him back to the girl in question. "With the prince over there I could at least somewhat understand it. He looks like he might break into pieces if I tapped him too hard but I could at least understand since we're both guys. Instead," he cast a glance downwards at the stoic face staring back at him, "you're putting me up against _her_?"

"Koneko is far stronger than you're giving her credit for, I assure you. Of us four, she has the highest physical strength," Rias replied. Her Rook was not only the best choice for this, she was practically the _only_ choice. She and Akeno weren't suited for close combat – though Akeno was just slightly better off since she had the properties of a Rook thanks to her Queen piece – and while their increased agility may have been able to allow them to keep up with the boy, one shot would likely be all that was required to do serious damage. Kiba was just about in the same position, his body a bit sturdier due to years of rigorous training to hone his swordsmanship and his speed surpassing that of herself and her Queen but if Shizuo ever managed to stop her Knight in his tracks for a moment she was sure the fight would end badly for him. Koneko was the most practical choice, having both the physical strength, the endurance, and the durability to outpower Shizuo as well as not crumble under the force of any blows dealt.

"That says more about you three than it does for her," he fired back. This had to be some sort of joke, a rib to see if he'd actually take a swing at the white-haired girl he could feel trying to stare him down. "I'm not going to hit a little girl. I'm a piece of shit but even _I_ have standards, ya know."

"If you don't fight back then you'll lose."

Shizuo rolled his eyes at Koneko's statement. There wasn't going to be any fight. He'd push Rias a little harder on this joke of hers, they'd go back to the club room and discuss more of what being a Devil had to offer and that was that. This had been a waste of time for a joke that had worn itself out. He sighed and looked away out of boredom, ready to start the long trek back to the club room.

"Whatever, shorty. I doubt you could even-"

His words were cut short as Koneko dashed in front of him with speed far beyond what he had been expecting, her hand cocked back. Not giving him the time to react, get into a stance, or prepare himself in the least, the first-year Devil swiftly planted her fist right into Shizuo's stomach. His eyes bulged in surprise as he lurched forward, hands coming up to hold onto Koneko's shoulders so he wouldn't crumble to the ground as his diaphragm spasmed violently from the sucker punch.

"Still want to fight?"

The blond felt a vein throb in his forehead. She was getting cocky already, just from getting the first hit in? More than that, she really thought he'd let it end there? Not a goddamn chance. "You... are gonna regret that," he said through clenched teeth before digging his fingers into her shoulders and pulling her down and forward, forcing her to bend awkwardly, and bringing his knee up to slam it into the girl's midsection. Without a shred of hesitation, he repeated the action one, two, three, four, five times, each one harsher than the last as he began to gain steam.

Koneko felt spittle leave her mouth after each strike, all of them feeling like they were coming from another Rook rather than a human. She had known beforehand that his strength was far beyond the bounds of what could be considered normal by human standards but this was ridiculous. However, not one to just stand there and take his attacks, she brought her arms up and forced his hands off of his shoulders before throwing a punch to the dead center of his face and sent it rocketing upwards to stare at the sky. That should finish it. In the end, his body was still that of a human's. He was at a disadvantage from the get-go. She wasn't arrogant by any means but she knew her own strength was nothing to scoff at. And then, she heard the unthinkable.

Shizuo _laughed_.

His face slowly turned back down, the only trace that she had done any damage was the bruise forming on his face, marring his otherwise pale skin. His mouth was set in a grin that would have looked more at home on a feral, starving dog than a person and his eyes were wide, betraying both fury and his newfound interest in the girl. It had been a long, long, **long** time since anyone hit him that hard.

"That all you got?"

As soon as the words left the now crazed blond's mouth, he decked her across the face, his fist making contact with her cheek and forcing her back. Koneko wasted no time going back on the offensive, dashing back in only to be met with a kick aimed at her face. She blocked his leg with her forearms but was unable to make a grab at it to take him to the dirt before his foot was back on the ground. That didn't stop her from leaping forward to deliver a hook to his face, one he took without even bothering to put up a guard even when blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

The human recovered quickly, grabbing her by the sides and slamming her to the ground in an almost powerbomb-esque wrestling maneuver. She only narrowly dodged having her skull crushed by rolling out of the way of his incoming fist, the punch he had thrown immediately after planting her in the soil creating a small crater in the hard earth where her head had been only a second prior. The both of them quickly rose to their feet, staring one another down and reassessing the situation.

Koneko called upon her wings and flew at him, deciding that the quickest way to end this fight was to aim for his head and get a clean knock-out. Shizuo, to his credit, didn't even bat an eye at the new development unfolding before him, not caring whether the girl had wings or not. For all he gave a damn she could sprout a tail and horns too while she was at it, he'd still smash her into the dirt. Her punch was sidestepped and when she went to throw a kick he met her with a swift elbow to the face that forced her back, but not before she launched another kick at him. This time she made contact but he had blocked it with his arm rather than take the full force of it like he had done with her earlier punch.

Shizuo stepped in while her leg was still extended and brought his clenched fist up quickly, his knuckles slamming into her stomach. He had a slight disadvantage in that he couldn't sweep her legs out from her under her while she was buzzing around him like a damn bee but it was more than made up for the fact that it now felt like he was fighting someone closer to his height. He had little experience fighting people significantly shorter than he was and Koneko definitely fit that description. Her actions had unknowingly brought her into far more familiar territory for the blond and he would take advantage of it as much as he could.

Before she could right herself, he grabbed her by the arm and hurled her across the clearing and straight into a tree, which she landed with her back against. He rushed after her, his leg lashing out like a whip once he reached Koneko. A kick to the chest followed by two to the stomach in rapid succession, then whipping the back of his heel across her cheek, snapping her head to the side. She wavered for a moment, looking ready to fall to the floor before flying at him again, throwing measured and controlled punches despite her weathered and beaten down condition.

His smile wavered when she landed a strong hook to his jaw, followed by two more punches in a combo that ended with a vicious backhand to his face, sending him skidding backward. She had some real durability to take as much punishment as she had so far from him and still stay standing, or rather, flying. Then again, he was still holding back his maximum strength, even in his battle-crazed state not wanting to take things too far and possibly end the girl's life with a misplaced strike. He was starting to regret that choice when her leg lashed out upwards, her foot impacting his chin and forcing him to look at the sky once more.

 _'Alright, you little shit, we're done here.'_

He grabbed her by the lower part of her leg, close to her ankle. He applied so much force to his grip that even Koneko, for all of the defense her Rook piece gave her, couldn't help but cry out in pain. Shizuo ignored it as he promptly lifted her over his head before slamming her into the ground on her back. He didn't give her any time to recover or retaliate, repeating the act as though he were tossing around a rag doll. He paid no mind to the number of times he continued slamming her body into the dirt, only ceasing when he finally felt her struggling cease.

Lifting her off the ground and rotating his arm and wrist to hold her upside down, he considered throwing a few more punches her way while she was vulnerable just to make sure she wouldn't continue. Koneko seemed the type to fight until the bitter end, especially considering the tired glare on her face even while she was panting, desperate to take in oxygen after having it forced out of her lungs by repeated being driven into the hard, unforgiving ground. Her uniform was torn in a few areas, her face was smudged up and dirty, and, given her current position, her skirt was flipped up.

"Nice panties, _shorty,_ " he said, mocking her pink with white polka-dot underwear and smirking when her eyes narrowed further, though he also noted there was a small pink coloring to her cheeks at his comment. It seemed that even the stoic could feel some embarrassment. "Wanna stop now or do you need we need to keep going with this?" Shizuo asked. If she relented now then he'd drop her and let the fight end. For the tough front he was putting up, he could acutely feel the damage her blows had left. That last kick, he was pretty sure that metallic taste in his mouth was his own blood and he was _definitely_ sure a few of his teeth were a bit looser than they had been before the fight started.

"No, that'll be enough. Shizuo, let Koneko go."

The smirk on his face widened when he heard Rias speak for the first time since the fight had started. There was a warning tone in her words, an unsaid threat that if he didn't let her go or tried to take the fight further than he'd be dealing with the three other club members as well. For as much as he wanted to see how he stacked up to them after being surprised by how well Koneko had faired, this wasn't the time or place. So, with a sigh of discontent, he crouched and gently placed her on the ground, taking care to not just drop her on her head. He had pulled his punches and kicks to _avoid_ possibly giving her brain trauma, wouldn't do for him to give it to her by dropping her.

"Fine, fine, don't need to try and use your 'scary' voice, Red. We're just about done here anyway." He stood to his full height, looking at Rias now. "I'll give you this much, you Devils are pretty fuckin' interesting. I'll think on your offer and get back to you later. Sound good to you?" he said. This little spar had been stimulating. Devils were so strong that even a tiny chick like Koneko packed enough of a punch to get his blood flowing? How could something like that not thrill him?

The redhead nodded, reaching into her shirt pocket while walking towards him. There was no point in trying to keep him here after that display, and he said he would come to his decision on his own. If he had any further questions he could come to her for answers. Rias pulled out a flyer and offered it to him. At his questioning look, she decided to explain. "It's the preferred method of summoning Devils in the current era. Keep it on you, just in case you need it."

The blond boy took it and folded it up before stuffing it into his pants pocket. He shot a look back at the white-haired girl that was now being looked over by Akeno, the third-year checking for any serious injuries. "Oi, Koneko," he called out to get her attention. Her yellow eyes snapped to him, surprised by the fact that he had actually used her name rather than an insult related to her height. "You aren't half-bad. You ever wanna do this again, lemme know."

Without giving her the chance to retort, he walked off, intent on checking his injuries once he reached home. Hopefully, they weren't so bad that he needed medical treatment beyond an ice pack and some rest. He wasn't up for a hospital visit.

* * *

Rias joined Akeno in checking over Koneko shortly after Shizuo left, Kiba standing over them and watching with concern. "Are you alright?" she asked, trying to keep the worry out of her voice. The way he had been throwing her to the ground and the strength behind each throw had bothered her immensely, tempting her to intervene directly to stop him. The grin on his face during the act hadn't helped matters. He looked downright animalistic during it and showed no hesitation whatsoever in manhandling her Rook. She had never thought him capable of such an expression, looking every bit the battle maniac his titles portrayed him as.

"I'm fine," Koneko replied quietly. Her back was killing her something fierce but she had tucked her head in to avoid the back of her skull smashing into the ground. If she hadn't she was pretty sure she would have been knocked out in short order, if not worse. "I'm sorry, Buchou," the small girl apologized. She hadn't been expecting the third-year to fight the way he had, believing he had the physical strength capable of putting up a somewhat decent fight but not the drive or will to actually use it.

Nothing from her surveillance and observations had shown that he would fight the way he had. His minor scuffles with thugs, students (both from their school and neighboring ones), even actual criminals, he went into all of them with a sort of boredom to his movements as though it was all just a waste of time and effort. His expression would only ever change once he was looming over the defeated, taunting them and telling them to not even bother trying again. It was completely different to what had just happened. He fought with such fire and intensity that she had nearly been overwhelmed by it, and in the end her King had been forced to call the match before things could deteriorate further.

"It's not your fault, Koneko," Rias replied, her fingers running through the young girl's hair in a comforting gesture. "You did everything I asked and more. Don't apologize for any of it."

"What do we do now?"

"We wait," the King answered her Queen, the two of them helping Koneko to her feet. A small groan escaping the first-year's lips as she rubbed the Rook's back. There didn't seem to be any permanent damage. Nothing that a night of her healing wouldn't fix.

"We're still recruiting him then?" Kiba asked. He had been just as unsettled as his King by the way Shizuo had gone about trying to end the fight. It was downright brutal and the smile he wore during the bulk of the fight reminded him too much of the various Stray Devils they had been sent to terminate in the past, all consumed by their lust for destruction. It was off-putting compared to the way his upperclassmen typically acted, to go from uncaring of the things around him to almost gleeful in exchanging blows with someone else. Though, he supposed he wasn't in a position to judge. The blond Knight had a feeling that he would have a similar expression and attitude once he came face-to-face with the object he had sworn to destroy.

Rias didn't hesitate in her reply. "I'm still extending the offer to him, yes. While he may have been a bit... _overzealous_ ," she said, trying to avoid calling the boy's methods savage or vicious, "in this spar, I don't believe he would have acted as such if he had been our ally rather than just a neutral party," she finished.

It was a bit of a reach, to say that Shizuo wouldn't have been as merciless if he was part of her Peerage, but she was still of the mindset that he was more than just the beast their peers labeled him as. If he wasn't then he wouldn't have stopped when she said to, he would have continued on trying to pummel Koneko and they would have been forced to step in to subdue him. Instead, he listened to her and took some care in setting Koneko down rather than drop her like a sack of potatoes. That had to count for something, didn't it?

Regardless, all she could do now was wait. This spar had been intended to show Shizuo that, while his strength was incredible, becoming a Devil could offer him even more. It instead became almost a disaster, forcing her to call it to an abrupt end to the spar before the two of them could possibly do any real harm to each other. If anything he would likely become more set in his belief that his own strength was more than sufficient. And maybe it was for him; she could honestly say she had never thought a human being at her school could go toe-to-toe with a Rook, regardless of rank, in a fist fight and come out on top. He hadn't even manifested his Sacred Gear, for Satan's sake!

But that just meant Rias needed him on her side even more, before she challenged Riser to a fight with their arranged marriage on the line. She only had until she graduated from college, and there were no guarantees that Riser wouldn't pull some underhanded trick to try and force the date closer. She needed to have her Peerage ready for when she threw down the challenge, and on the day she did Rias wanted Shizuo standing with them as part of her family. However, ultimately, his choice to join them was up to him. She couldn't force his hand without doing something that would cause strife or lead to disobedience down the line. If he agreed to become a Devil then she would welcome him with open arms. And, if not, she'd figure something out when that time came.

Still, wouldn't that be a sight to see? Her "fiancee's" face right before Shizuo punched a hole through it again and again, finally forcing that arrogant, womanizing pig of a phoenix to forfeit and break the contract their parents had signed. The "great" Riser Phenex, said to have only lost two matches in the Rating Games as favors for other noble households that were friends and allies of the Phenex, crushed by her and her Peerage in their first official Game.

Rias had to refrain from grinning at that mental image.

She really hoped that such a day would come soon.

* * *

 **Alright, reception to this story was so positive that I had to give this fic a bit of priority when it came to writing. So, I scrapped the original second chapter and rewrote it from scratch, then scrapped the ending to it entirely and added the small spar between Shizuo and Koneko to give it a more satisfying end than what I initially had planned. Speaking of which, I hope that fight was satisfying or at least understandable because I am utter dogshit at writing fights despite trying to improve where I can. Let me know what you think I can work on and I'll try to incorporate it.**

 **I was going to write a thing about power levels but power levels are stupid, especially in a world like DxD where humans can kill Ultimate-class Devils with the right tools, preparations, and experience. I'm not going to say out and out that Shizuo is stronger than Koneko or vice-versa. The fight went his way because of a few factors; he came out of the gate far more brutal than Koneko expected from him after having built up an image of how he fights based on previous observations, her still present refusal to use Senjutsu, and Shizuo's inhuman ability to take punishment and keep hammering away. Basically, he caught her flat-footed, pushed his advantage in the short time they had and Rias ended the fight before it could come down to endurance and stamina.**

 **Side note, but I also just wanted to emphasize that, despite his name and similarities, this _isn't_ Heiwajima Shizuo from Durarara. This isn't a crossover fic (though I do think DxD and Durarara could crossover incredibly well and easily at that, and imagining a guy like Izaya running free in the DxD world makes my spine all tingly). I just wanted to put that out there so I don't get reviews saying that Shizuo wouldn't have done X or reacted to Y situation in such a way as his namesake. Durarara!Shizuo was the (obvious) inspiration but they're different characters and different people. If I had to draw a parallel between the two, I would say that my Shizuo is what I feel Durarara!Shizuo could have turned out to be if he didn't have people like his brother, Tom, and Shinra to keep him grounded while growing up and maturing. There's a difference in growing up believing you're a monster but still being surrounded by people that want to help you and reaffirm that you're human and growing up isolated from others entirely, only ever being seen as a challenge to be conquered.**

 **Anyways, that's all from me. Read, review, tell me what you liked/disliked, leave your thoughts, tear my fight scene apart for being awful because god knows it was, all that good stuff.**


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